IIIT-Bangalore Convocation: Highest Placement Package at ₹1.5 Crore

The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) held its 26th convocation ceremony on Sunday, awarding degrees to 316 students. Among the graduates, 95 completed the Integrated Master of Technology programme, 175 the Master of Technology, 32 the Master of Science by Research, and 14 received PhDs.

Debabrata Das, Director of IIIT-B, announced placement details, stating, 'This year, one student from the Integrated MTech programme has secured a record package of ₹1.5 crore, with two students securing packages of ₹1.3 crore. Over 22 students have secured annual salary packages exceeding ₹60 lakh, 27 students have received packages between ₹40-60 lakh, and over 110 students have been offered packages above ₹20 lakh per annum.'

Mr. Das also highlighted the institute's new Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Division, the first of its kind in Indian academia. He cited Tele-MANAS, a national tele-mental health platform developed by IIIT-B, which has received over 40 lakh calls and made a significant impact.

Chief Guest Professor Rajat Moona of IIT Gandhinagar addressed the graduates, saying, 'In today’s AI-driven age, the pace of change in technology has become even faster. In the past few years, the changes brought by AI in our own lives have been tremendous. Even as you graduate, you have likely seen the series of transformations brought by AI. Such transformations will continue, and one must be ready for it.'

The convocation also recognized outstanding students. The IIITB Gold Medal for MTech was awarded to Singuru Manognya, while Subhajeet Lahiri received the Institute Gold Medal for Integrated MTech. The Sir M. Visvesvaraya Scholarship Awards were conferred on Subhajeet Lahiri and Ketaki Srikrishna Tamhanakar. Siddharth Kothari received the Sitaram Jindal Gold Medal and the Late Sri N. Rama Rao Medal for Best Outgoing Student (Male), while Yukta Arvind Rajapur received the corresponding medal for Best Outgoing Student (Female). The Institute Medals for contributions to community and professional life were conferred on Sankalp Kothari and Daksh Sharma.

Notably, Siddharth Kothari and Sankalp Kothari are twin brothers who both graduated in MTech in Computer Science Engineering. Siddharth said, 'It was a great journey. I made a lot of friends, participated in everything from extracurriculars to academics, had some of the best experiences of my life, and I am leaving as a person completely changed for the better. I am looking forward to the milestones ahead in my career.'

The convocation also marked two significant milestones. IIIT-B celebrated the graduation of its 100th PhD scholar in Computer Science and Engineering. Vikas Vazhayil, a neurosurgeon from NIMHANS, was awarded a doctorate for his research on autonomous robotic neurosurgery. He explained, 'The research focused on the theory behind developing surgical algorithms which can guide neurosurgical robots while performing brain surgery. There are plans to build a series of neurosurgical robots based on the work done so far.'